What We Heard - 2026 Public Consultations on the Canada-India CEPA

On November 23, 2025, the Right Honourable Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada, and Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, announced their agreement to launch negotiations toward a potential Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Canada and India. In negotiating a CEPA with India, the government’s objective is to create opportunities and benefits for Canadian businesses and workers by reducing barriers to trade and creating rules that will enhance predictability for traders.

Global Affairs Canada conducted public consultations on the Canada-India CEPA through a Canada Gazette in anticipation of the commencement of negotiations in 2026. From December 13, 2025, to January 27, 2026, Canadians were invited to submit their views, reflections and priorities with respect to a comprehensive trade agreement with India. Feedback was gathered primarily through written submissions and supplemented by engagement with industry associations, businesses and provincial and territorial representatives.

Summary

The Government of Canada received input from a diverse mix of stakeholders across Canada. In total, we received 624 submissions. Contributions came from 53 industry associations, business councils and labour unions, 26 businesses, 11 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society and public policy groups, six (6) provinces and territories, three (3) public sector organizations, one (1) Indigenous group and 524 individuals. The submissions converge on a cautious but strategic approach to engagement with India on a CEPA, as contributors exhort Canada to conduct negotiations that are grounded in realistic expectations, clear priorities and establishing enforceable rules.

Figure 1: Summary of Submissions

What We Heard

While most stakeholders support Canada-India CEPA negotiations, submissions emphasize that negotiations should be realistic, strategic and focused on delivering tangible benefits to Canadians. A recurring message is that the CEPA objectives should not be symbolic or aspirational. Overall, submissions encourage Canada to reach an agreement that delivers stable, predictable, and commercially meaningful outcomes for export sectors, while protecting key domestic interests and industries.

Market Access for Agriculture and Processed Foods

The agriculture and agri-food sector was highly engaged in public consultations, accounting for roughly half of all association submissions (24 of 53), as well as six (6) from businesses and one (1) from an NGO.  Submissions urge Canada to prioritize meaningful tariff outcomes to improve market access for both bulk commodities and higher-value processed products.

Many export-oriented stakeholders see India as a significant long-term growth market if tariffs and non-tariff barriers can be effectively addressed. Stakeholders identified India’s high tariffs and non-tariff barriers, including sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, as key constraints, and cited concerns about sudden tariff changes that disrupt trade. They called for science-based, enforceable SPS provisions supported by ongoing bilateral technical dialogue, as well as greater predictability on setting maximum residue limits, and enhanced cooperation on labelling, and certification to reduce duplication and uncertainty.

Import-sensitive sectors, including supply-managed groups and sugar producers, reiterated concerns about tariff concessions given India’s position as a major agri-food exporter. Livestock and meat organizations also raised animal health, food safety, and biosecurity risks.

Industrial and Manufactured Sectors

Global Affairs Canada received 20 submissions (ten [10] from associations and ten [10] from businesses) related to other key industrial sectors, such as aerospace, automotive, metals and plastics, cosmetics, apparel, etc. Submissions from resource-based and manufacturing stakeholders identify non-tariff barriers as a major constraint to bilateral trade with India and highlight the need for regulatory coherence to enhance Canada’s competitiveness in this growing market. Submissions argue that dialogue alone is insufficient and that enforceable commitments are needed to ensure predictability.

Aerospace stakeholders stress the importance of preserving the long-standing global “zero-for-zero” tariff regime on civil aircraft and aerospace products, which underpins integrated supply chains and export competitiveness. Automotive manufacturers call for reciprocal market access, strong rules of origin reflecting North American integration, recognition of Canadian and U.S. safety standards, removal of discriminatory taxes and regulations, and currency disciplines to prevent exchange-rate practices from eroding negotiated gains. The recycling sector points to inconsistent enforcement of India’s scrap metal inspection exemptions, which creates delays and costs, and urges Canada to secure full and expanded implementation. Cosmetics industries call for sector-specific annexes and binding regulatory cooperation to address misalignment, slow approvals, and opaque rulemaking.

Services, Digital and Intangible Assets

Services and broader policy issues also feature prominently in 42 industry submissions (19 by associations, 10 by businesses, 10 by NGOs and three [3] by public sector organizations). Several submissions urge Canada to recognize tourism as a high-value services export, support air connectivity between Canada and India, and strengthen the international marketing industry. Certain submissions also encourage Canada and India to streamline temporary entry processes for business persons. Temporary entry provisions should be narrowly tailored to meet genuine labour needs.

Some submissions also emphasize the need for strong provisions on intellectual property (IP), consistent with relevant World Trade Organization (WTO) rules in this area, and to support innovation and research collaboration. Certain stakeholders also encourage strong provisions on digital trade and data governance, including in respect of cross-border data flows, protection of personal data and to support the growth of the information, communications and technology sector. Submissions emphasize the need to preserve Canada’s system of self-regulation, particularly in engineering, cautioning against binding commitments that could undermine public safety or regulatory autonomy.

Recommendations from stakeholders also include rejecting investor-state dispute settlement in favour of state-to-state dispute settlement mechanisms, and safeguarding policy space for climate action and industrial policy and recognition of Canada’s sustainability and low-emissions production.

Cultural stakeholders call for a comprehensive cultural exemption to protect Canada’s ability to support cultural industries in the digital and artificial intelligence (AI) era.

Inclusive Trade

Submissions from Canadian stakeholders, including business organisations, as well as from Indigenous groups and Indigenous rights holders, emphasize the need for practical provisions to reduce barriers faced by SMEs, particularly Indigenous-owned and women-owned businesses. They highlighted the importance of trade capacity-building, financing and trade facilitation supports, with one noting that benefits must also reach Indigenous, rural, and northern business.

Stakeholders also called for labour protections addressing workplace gender-based violence and to ensure that expanded trade opportunities do not increase the vulnerability of Indigenous women. They further called for provisions aimed at improving regulatory recognition, transparency, labour mobility, data flows, procurement fairness, and intellectual property protection.

Some submissions called for labour and environment commitments, including prohibitions on forced‑labour imports, strong labour and environmental protections, and commitments to non‑discrimination and addressing forced and child labour.

One Indigenous partner expressed interest in a co-developed Trade and Indigenous Peoples chapter, aligned with reconciliation principles and informed by United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, though its inclusion would require partner country agreement.

Individual Submissions

Out of 524 individual submissions, 398 (76%) are part of a letter writing campaign organized by the World Sikh Organisation of Canada to deter the government of Canada from engaging with India. Signatories argue that trade cannot proceed amid unresolved national security and human-rights concerns, citing past public statements by Canadian authorities alleging foreign interference, transnational repression and criminal violence in Canada linked to agents of the Indian government and affiliated criminal networks, particularly targeting Sikh Canadians. The authors call for conditioning talks on public, verifiable commitments from India, safeguarding rule of law and human rights and refusing negotiations until allegations are addressed.

The remaining 126 individual submissions (24%) present polarized views on a potential trade agreement between Canada and India, reflecting tensions between trade diversification, cultural values and domestic capacity. Approximately half (75 submissions) are supportive and argue that the Canada-India CEPA has potential to reduce the reliance of Canadian exporters on the U.S. market and unlock opportunities in agriculture, clean energy, services and innovation, provided the agreement includes effective dispute settlement, labour and environmental standards, and inclusive benefits for SMEs and underrepresented groups. On the other hand, critics raise serious concerns about possible issues related to governance, human rights, immigration pressures and product standards, worried that India’s strategic use of trade could disproportionately benefit India while increasing Canadian imports.

Overall, contributors strictly condition negotiations on enforceable benchmarks, domestic industry development, accountability mechanisms and safeguards to ensure that any agreement delivers tangible, equitable benefits to Canadians.

Provincial and Territorial Governments

Global Affairs Canada received submissions from six (6) provinces and territories. Submissions broadly support pursuing negotiations toward a Canada-India CEPA to strengthen trade ties, expand market access and improve predictability in the Indian market. A shared priority among provinces and territories is the elimination of tariffs on resource-based and manufactured exports where Canada holds comparative advantages, including metals, machinery, chemicals, forest products, precious metals, diamonds, and other value-added goods. There is strong consensus on maintaining full protection for Canada’s supply-managed agricultural sectors.

Submissions indicated that reducing non-tariff barriers is also a central concern. Provinces and territories equally identify SPS and technical barriers to trade as major constraints on agricultural exports. Priorities include replacing fumigation requirements for pulses with systems-based recognition, stabilizing quarantine weed-seed lists, and ensuring science-based, time-bound approvals for biotechnology products, such as genetically modified canola seed and meal. Alignment with international standards and maximum residue limits is viewed as critical to restoring predictability. Provinces and territories submissions also raise concerns about non-automatic import licensing practices that may be inconsistent with WTO rules, underscoring the need for enforceable commitments and effective dispute settlement.

On investment, provinces and territories’ submissions highlight their respective priorities, including that Canada obtains comprehensive market access, transparent and fair regulatory treatment and protections against performance requirements in India, balanced with flexibility for public entities and Indigenous procurement.

Conclusion

Overall, stakeholders support re-engagement with India only if CEPA delivers enforceable, commercially relevant outcomes while protecting Canada’s sensitive sectors, regulatory sovereignty and public-interest priorities. The dominant view is that Canada should pursue ambition where gains are realistic, draw firm red lines where risks are high, and ensure that any agreement enhances predictability, fairness and long-term economic resilience.

Contact information

We thank everyone who participated in the consultations. Global Affairs Canada is committed to continuing to hear the views of partners, stakeholders, and interested Canadians in the Canada-India CEPA. You are welcome to share your feedback at any time, using the contact information below.

Canada-India Trade Negotiations
Global Affairs Canada
111 Sussex Drive
Ottawa, ON
K1N 1J1
Email: TCE-Consultations@international.gc.ca